the buzz log

After a shocking televised ending, fans turned to the Search box yet again. And we're not talking about "The Sopranos." Nope, searchers have moved on from the mystery of the black screen to the riddle of the exploding limo. Searches on WWE chairman Vince McMahon burst on to the Buzz after the gruff head honcho was supposedly blown to bits in a fiery car bomb.

The audacious storyline helped lift the WWE and Mr. McMahon into the rare air of our top three searches. McMahon's fate elicited concerned queries similar to the same pattern we saw after Tony Soprano left the screen—namely, "is vince mcmahon dead," "did vince mcmahon die," and "vince mcmahon dies." But as much as it pains us to say it, much of what you see in professional wresting isn't real. Including McMahon's supposed death.

Truly intrepid fans delving deeper into the cataclysmic circumstances searched out local news outlets. We saw spikes on "wilkes-barre news," "wilkes-barre newspaper," and "wilkes-barre times leader" after the incident at Wilkes-Barre's Wachovia Arena. Those spikes led us to this Times-Leader news story, which explains the elaborate hoax.

Now that Mr. McMahon has escaped certain death, what's next? Will his enemies continue their malicious ways? Will he see the light and make the transformation from heel to good guy? Only the WWE's team of well-paid writers know for sure...